Carlsbad council moves to implement SB 707, requires hybrid access and technology-disruption policy

Carlsbad’s City Council voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance and adopt two staff-recommended policies to implement changes required by State Senate Bill 707 affecting public meetings.

At a presentation, Assistant City Clerk Morgan Fry and Fabiola Medina, director of constituent and clerk services, told the council that SB 707 requires the council to offer hybrid participation for city council meetings beginning July 1, 2026, and to adopt a policy governing technology disruptions and outreach for public meeting participation. Medina said staff intends to use Zoom webinar technology and that remote participants would be audio-only for security reasons.

Medina described specific requirements under SB 707, including a sunset clause and a requirement that the city adopt a technology-disruption policy that would require the council to recess if two-way remote participation is prevented and to make a good-faith effort to restore service before reconvening. “If a disruption occurs that prevents members of the public from attending or observing a city council meeting through the two-way telephonic or audio-visual platform, the city council must recess the open session and make a good faith effort to restore service,” Medina said.

Council members pressed staff on how the policy would apply to different types of outages and what redundancy measures would be available. Medina said redundancy for the Zoom participation piece is planned, that in many cases staff can restore service before the one-hour recess required by the statute, and that the disruption policy is intended to apply to failures within the city’s control (for example, the Zoom connection) rather than passive livestream failures.

Council discussion also covered translation obligations under SB 707. Medina reported staff had reviewed American Community Survey language data and determined Carlsbad did not meet the 20% threshold in any language group that would trigger a citywide translation requirement under the law.

After questions, Mayor Pro Tem Patel moved to introduce the ordinance amending Carlsbad Municipal Code chapters on meetings and boards/commissions and to adopt the city policy statements on technology disruptions and public meeting participation outreach. The motion passed unanimously.

The council directed staff to proceed with the ordinance introduction and the two resolutions; the ordinance introduction and policies will return to council for subsequent steps required by local code and state law.

What’s next: Staff will prepare the formal ordinance and the written policies for future council action and public notice. The hybrid meeting framework is expected to be in place for council meetings beginning July 1, 2026.